Letters - Sept. 17

Although I always enjoy the heat of the summer, there are several things about September in the Hood River Valley that are very memorable: 1) Kids back in school, 2) Local pears, apples and other fruits that are fantastic, and 3) Plenty of parking downtown.

It is always fun to see our children back in school, and all of the excitement and promise that it brings. Of course we are reminded to drive safely to protect our children as they venture back to our schools.

Fresh pears and apples from Hood River Valley are truly one of our greatest blessings. I have been enjoying Hood River pears and apples everyday lately, and I plan on continuing that practice. In fact, one way to help Promote a Strong Local Economy (Chamber of Commerce Goal #1, by the way) is for everyone in the Gorge area to eat a local pear or apple everyday, or at least one per family everyday. Pears are great by themselves, in salads, on cereal, in stuffing and soups, grilled (very tasty), baked, in pies, strudels, cakes, muffins, well I could go on. The point is to enjoy our local pears in your favorite ways and enjoy them often. People often wonder why I am always smiling, maybe it is the pears?

And now that Labor Day has passed, there is plenty of parking downtown to enjoy all of those activities you may have missed when so many of our visitors were here during the summer.

Yes, September is a great time of year in Hood River, a time to celebrate our good fortune. So drive safely on your way to get some of our local pears and other fruits, and don’t worry about parking downtown because it is after Labor Day. Cheers and keep it fun.